Ancient Rome & Greece Weekend is over, and I thought I would show you the results of my attempt to create a recreation, re-enactment, or impression of a soldier from Dura-Europos (so this is not really one of the original IV, so to speak, hence it is V of IV). In the group above you can see me on the left, with members of the University of Toronto's Hart House Archery Club, who collectively constitute the ROM's 3rd century Roman army (or ROMan army - it being the ROM, we are posing in front of a dinosaur).

On Saturday, June 29, 2013 come visit the "Life in Crisis: Schad Gallery of Biodiversity" to participate in our special Curator's Corner event from 11am to 4pm. Celebrate the 4th birthday of the gallery by playing our "You be the Curator" and "Fact or Fiction" games. Visit Earth Rangers Studio to learn more!

In the 19th century, cloth was big business in East Africa. From present-day Somalia down to Mozambique, the whole eastern half of the continent was experiencing an economic boom as it exported elephant ivory, slaves, aromatics and spices to Asia, Europe, and North America. With their newfound wealth, East African consumers largely sought to acquire foreign cloth and beads.

So in my project to recreate the equipment of a 3rd century Roman soldier from Dura-Europos, following the creation of the sword, I next moved on to the dagger. Little seems to be known about the daggers used by soldiers in the Roman World of the 3rd century AD.